The Civ5 achievements are really well done and clever in Steam. I have not played any of the other games on Steam so I can comment if the achievement integration is just as deep on them.
My wife was not as impressed with my research as I may have liked her to be. Playing Civ5 until 2:00 AM Friday and then being tired and grumpy all day Saturday did not score me any points.
I did learn some things about gamification though. The engagement model in Civ5 is amazing. The feeling of productivity in the game is addictive. You get a very real sense of being blissfully productive making all the decisions to build your civilization and handle diplomacy and plan your military strategy. It was even engaging when I was not playing the game. I found myself pondering my next moves when I was running and sometimes when putting the kids to bed. I would catch myself on Civ5 strategy sties throughout the week.
The obvious lesson to me is how could we make our own jobs just as engrossing as Civ5? What can we learn from the mechanics to make each hour at work as interesting and productive as an hour playing this game? The tasks in Civ5 are not all that different then a lot of jobs. You make plans. You hit a bunch of keys on the keyboard to get something done. You get feedback on your performance. I think a lot of the Civ5 magic is the very short feedback cycle and the clearly defined metrics that allow you to see your progress. I also really like the feeling of complexity and depth to the game - to make a framework for doing a job that nuanced the metrics and types of action need to be more complicated than the simple points / leaderboards / badges types of solutions that are in the market today.
Anyway, my research with Civ5 was somewhat thought provoking and very engaging. However, in a concerted effort to spend more time learning and less time playing I think I need a break for it. I did manage to score a victory on King mode before I retired though!
